Hands On with Seesmic Desktop: A Flexible, Customizable Twitter Client

If you're looking for a Twitter client that hits the sweet spot between features and flexibility, sign up for the beta of Seesmic Desktop.

The sheer number of desktop Twitter clients available is staggering, and each of them offer different sets of features. But if you're looking for a Twitter client that hits the sweet spot between features and flexibility, sign up for the beta of Seesmic Desktop. Built by the makers of Twhirl, Seesmic Desktop has been making waves on the Web with people who have tried it, and I'm no exception. The app is free, runs in Adobe AIR, and manages to retain its simplicity and ease-of-use while simultaneously being customizable.

Seesmic Desktop isn't as streamlined and simple as its little brother Twhirl, but also isn't as difficult to use and customize as TweetDeck. The app allows you to create multiple columns for all of your incoming tweets, your replies, your direct messages, and any user groups you create. Seesmic Desktop can also easily manage multiple Twitter accounts.

Seesmic Desktop is currently in closed beta, but if you sign up Team Seesmic will likely issue you a beta key in a couple of days. Seesmic is also the developer behind Twhirl, and it has indicated that Seesmic Desktop will eventually replace Twhirl entirely. That's both a good and a bad thing, in my eyes; if you install Seesmic Desktop and expect it to be like Twhirl, you'll be immediately disappointed. Seesmic Desktop is more of a replacement option for TweetDeck users than it is a viable alternative for people who love Twhirl.

Seesmic Desktop takes up more screen real-estate, abandoning the feel of an IM client in favor of a TweetDeck-style interface with multiple columns and an update window at the top. The app is missing some of the valuable features in Twhirl: For example, Seesmic Desktop doesn't have Twhirl's transparency features, doesn't allow you to go straight to your list of favorite tweets, and its search features are difficult to get used to.

Seesmic Desktop does have most of the other features in Twhirl, however. The app supports built-in URL shortening with is.gd, bit.ly, Digg's new URL shortening service, and more. You can still share images via Twitpic, and you can still perform user searches.

The separate user lookup and Twitter search buttons in Twhirl have been replaced by a single search box at the bottom of the window. When you type in your search term it's added to the "searches" header in the left sidebar. A new column open to display your search results, and if you click a specific username, the home column changes to display the user's profile information, followers, link, and most recent tweets. This view should be familiar to Twhirl users.

Seesmic Desktop's developers apparently wanted to integrate all of their search features into a single tool instead of adding multiple buttons for different kinds of search. It works well for people who may not be used to it, but users coming from other Twitter clients may be initially confused by the way it adds and changes columns.

At the same time, Seesmic Desktop is flexible, so if you prefer a small view of all of your incoming and outgoing tweets, you can restrict the app to one column to approximate the look and feel of Twhirl. If you're a TweetDeck or DestroyTwitter user, you'll appreciate the ability to quickly and easily expand the interface to include your replies, your direct messages, and even a column that displays only your tweets.

Similar to TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop allows you to create additional columns. Each column corresponds to a "userlist," which is just a group of users you create to organize their tweets. For example, I have a userlist for the people I know at PCMag, another for my close personal friends, another for the serial adders that I enjoy reading, and another for news agencies and blogs who post their stories to Twitter. You have the flexibility to customize the categories any way you choose, and you can add or remove users form the userlists at any time.

If you want to add someone to a userlist, hover over their Twitter icon. As in Twhirl, four buttons appear when you hover over a userpic: one to reply to the specific post, one to retweet the post, one to send a direct message to the user, and one to add them to a userlist.

When you click to add the user to a list, a new window appears so you can select the userlist you want them in. In Twhirl, the fourth button allowed you to add their tweet to your favorites, and it seems that support for favorite tweets is missing entirely from Seesmic Desktop. At the same time, if you're going to have multiple userlists, the way Seesmic Desktop allows you to add people to those lists is intuitive.

When you add someone to a list, the list isn't populated until the users make new posts. This means you can install Seesmic Desktop and create a number of userlists based on your home column, and all the userlists will be empty until the users in the lists make new posts.

Seesmic Desktop also supports multiple Twitter accounts, so if you manage a personal account and another for your blog, work, or organization, you can click on any of those accounts to manage them. The app's developers hope to add video sharing soon, so you can record short videos with your Web cam and share them via Twitter as well.

To give Seesmic Desktop a try, all you have to do is provide your name and e-mail address to join Team Seesmic. Within a few days, you'll likely get a link to download the most recent version of the beta. The app is still a preview beta, so it's likely that the issues I noted will be addressed and the features strengthened before it goes public. In the meantime however, Seesmic Desktop is well polished and worth a look for you if none of the other popular Twitter clients have quite hit the spot.